These 21 Words Are Hints You're Using Something Toxic

I wanted to write a quick article on the dangers of chemicals millions of Americans use hiding in all kinds of products we use daily.

From shampoos, to lotion, even to the diapers we use with our children, the world is awash with products that appear to be safe - but are anything but.

Not long ago my wife Emily hosted a guest on our Podcast “Healthy Discourses” who’s somewhat of an expert on dangerous products masquerading as healthy and natural.

The two of them talked about the dangers of using “greenwashed” products and how marketers have scammily convinced millions of Americans they’re purchasing products that are good for them when they are anything but.

You can listen to it here if you want:

This sad fact (that companies are pulling the wool over our eyes) is what drove Emily and I to create the “Raise Them Well” brand; which we use to help protect children from dangerous chemicals.

Even though there are 100s of companies engaging in this kind of false advertising, there’s a growing number who strive to give us the best ingredients without having to deal with subpar performance.

Today I’m here to give you a crash course on how to identify if something you’re using on your body is “greenwashed” and then I’ll give you a link to a wonderful article (that I didn’t write) that you need to use to find companies whose products you can trust.

21 Words Hint At Serial Greenwashing

This article is a crash course on using the ingredient list and product packaging on products you love to see if the manufacturer is trying to trick you into believing their products are better than they really are.

If you see the following anywhere on a product - chances are it’s not that great…

1. Pure
2. Plant-Extracts
3. Chemical-free
4. Recommended by Dermatologist 
5. Gentle
6. Sensitive
7. Raw
8. Earth-friendly
9. Extracts
10. Plant-derived
11. Plant-based
12. Herbal
13. Green
14. Natural
15. Minerals
16. Naturally essenced or fragranced
17. Organic (unless it comes with multiple verifications on the product label)
18. Paraben-free
19. Plant-based
20. Plant-derived
21. Sulfate-free

And remember this too, just because a product claims to be healthy because it doesn’t have X, that doesn’t mean they might not have other dangerous ingredients inside.

A great example is when companies make claims around being phthalate and paraben free but their products contain ingredients like phenoxyethanol, or SLS, etc.

It’s sleight of hand companies use to make you think they’re doing something good for you while duping you into buying products that are either dangers to you or your family.

How do you know who’s bad and who’s good in the world of greenwashing?

It’s a great question.

That’s why I’ll reference this articles for companies to use:

https://livesimply.me/the-best-non-toxic-skincare-brands/

I haven’t vetted everything on this list, so you should do your due diligence, but I’d argue these are some great resources to utilize for helping in your quest to use non-toxic products for you and your family.

And when it comes to companies to avoid, that’s a little bit harder.

A good rule of thumb is if it’s in Target or any big-box store, it’s probably not too good for you.

And then you can use this site https://thetoxicfreefoundation.com/database to figure out what ingredients are problematic.

The Toxic Free foundation is who we’ve used to certify our Raise Them Well products and is the gold-standard for consumers to assess their products against. Certification by them doesn’t come easy and means that you can trust the products with their labels beyond the shadow of a doubt.